Price for drug that reverses opioid overdoses soars amid record deaths
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/oct/19/naloxone-price-soars-opioid-overdoses
As the United States faces an unprecedented surge in opioid overdoses, harm reduction groups are seeing shortages in naloxone, a usually affordable and easy-to-use medication that reverses overdoses and has been credited with saving many lives.
But its not because of a lack of supply; theres actually plenty of naloxone out there. Instead, the dangerous shortage of naloxone is all about soaring prices.
Community groups working to prevent overdose deaths are now paying up to 30 times more for the life-saving medication at a time when more Americans than ever are dying from overdoses.
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Drug giant Pfizer reached a deal with the Opioid Safety and Naloxone Network (OSNN) Buyers Club in 2012 to provide its injectable medication at low cost for harm reduction groups, which work closely with people with substance abuse disorders to prevent overdose deaths. But Pfizer ran into problems in manufacturing doses of naloxone earlier this year, and the company temporarily stopped supplying the affordable medication to the community groups battling overdoses. The issues are now fixed, and Pfizer expects to be fully stocked again by the end of the year.